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from dip to dinner

Recipe: roast chicken artichoke pasta

You’re probably familiar with artichoke dip. It’s a great goto appetizer for guests and especially when I used to host stitch-n-bitches. It really boils down to a lot of fat with fiber, I mean a lot of delicious fat with fiber! I’ve had it in restaurants and I can’t stand their versions because they skimp on the arties and load it with even more creamy filler. Blegh.

I made so much soup and stew and curry last week that we were working on leftovers when I remembered I had planned on roast chicken. The chicken wouldn’t wait and I didn’t want to chuck it in the freezer, so I went ahead and roasted it, then put it in the fridge. Instead of having it straight, I had a smack of inspiration.


preparing to harvest the meat



I stripped the bird of the meat and saved the carcass for chicken broth like any good cook would. I decided to make a twist on the artichoke dip and turn it into a hearty pasta dinner on the fly. I’m sure fresh artichokes would have been heavenly, but I was running short on time because I spent most of the day skiing with a bunch of tele babes – whoosh! I used trusty canned artichokes in the interest of time and less swearing.

quartered artichoke hearts



The dip recipe calls for blending everything together and baking it to heady goodness. I wanted to incorporate all of the flavors without baking anything. So I started with the minced garlic, except I used a lot more garlic than is called for in the dip recipe.

sauté garlic in olive oil



Once the sautéed garlic was fragrant, I added cooked penne and sautéed that for a few minutes before adding the chopped roast chicken and artichokes. You can add salt and pepper at this point, but since my roast chicken is typically well-seasoned, I don’t.

the hot mix



I removed the pot from the stove and grated about 2 cups of parmesan cheese over the pasta. I added 1.5 cups of mayonnaise as well as 1/2 cup of lemon juice. Most of these ingredients should be adjusted to your taste. I think I may have added a little more lemon juice – I love that stuff.

grating parmesan

mixing in the mayo, parm, and lemon juice



It’s a bit of a warm pasta salad dish. I guess I think of it as salad since it has mayo. It would have been great with a cream base sauce, but I’m trying to avoid dairy and the mayo lends more to the original artichoke dip.

artichoke dip as dinner



Roast Chicken Artichoke Pasta
[print recipe]

1 lb. roast chicken, chopped
24 oz. artichoke hearts, cooked, drained, quartered
1 lb. penne, cooked and drained
3 tbsps olive oil
8 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
2 cups Parmesan, grated (to taste)
1 1/2 cups, mayonnaise (to taste)
1/2 cup lemon juice (to taste)
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

In a large sauté pan heat olive oil on high flame. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant. Add the drained penne and sauté for a few minutes. When the pasta is well-coated, toss in the chicken and artichokes and stir until thoroughly heated. Remove pot from heat. Toss in the Parmesan, mayonnaise, lemon juice, and parsley. Stir well and serve hot.

27 nibbles at “from dip to dinner”

  1. manggy says:

    YAY! Thanks for using canned artichokes. That’s all we have here (okay, we have… jarred too). That looks seriously good. I love artichoke dip from the restaurant, I’ve always wanted to make my own. The one I love is cut with spinach, though. I am not sure if they use mayo– it’s possible they use a little olive oil and puree some of the mix. Would be interesting with a thickened olive oil-lemon-egg yolk sauce in the place of mayo, too :)

  2. Chuck says:

    I love artichoke dip, except for all the mayo. It tastes great, but I’m trying to eat healthier these days. Regardless, your artichoke dip pasta creation looks delicious! It reminds me of a comforting casserole.

  3. Chelsea says:

    This may be a good way for me to use that can of artichokes I have sitting around. Thanks for sharing!

  4. Deborah says:

    You can never have too much garlic in my opinion!! This sounds great!

  5. K says:

    Looks brilliant! I love it when you include pictures of you actually adding the ingredients as you cook; that’s got to be difficult to capture, but you do it well! I’ll definitely try out this recipe on my artichoke-averse husband. I think it would win him over. :)

  6. peabody says:

    Heck yeah! I am all over this. I think you picked my dinner tomorrow night.

  7. Christine says:

    Jen – we eat roasted chicken as well as pasta at least once every week and Pierre never tires of either one. I think he’s going to go crazy for this dish as it combines his two life loves – roasted chicken and pasta + delicious artichokes! I love the photo of the artichoke hearts – they look so beautiful, I could eat those out of hand.

  8. Annemarie says:

    I love how you *only* managed canned artichokes since you’d spent the day off skiing. I think if I’d been skiing (please note, I’ve never even tried it), I’d have the night spent on the sofa eating take out Indian food or some such. The pasta does look very, very more-ish.

  9. Lynn says:

    Oh, yum, yum, yum. This is going onto my menu for next week!

  10. Steph F. says:

    OH WOW. That looks AMAZINGLY delicious!! I can’t wait to try it out. Thanks for posting the recipe!

  11. Tartelette says:

    Never roasted chicken has looked so sexy! Great way to use all the flavors of my favorite dip, love it!

  12. Pam says:

    Love all the garlic!

  13. Graeme says:

    One day, I’ll find, and be able to afford Artichokes – Then I’ll be as great as you are, lol. (Maybe.)

  14. Nikki says:

    Artichoke dip has been a Christmas favorite in my family for years and years, we have perfected it and even printed it in our family cookbook. This recipe will be a fabulous add to the second edition that I’m working on currently. Thanks so much for the inspiration.

  15. Michelle says:

    Droolworthy!

  16. jen says:

    Yum! I’ve always been a sucker for warm pasta salads and warm potato salads, especially if they involve mayonnaise. Maybe it’s the slight verboten-ness…or maybe it’s the yumminess.

  17. Seth says:

    soooooo Good. Just made it.

    Wonderful!

  18. Amy says:

    Mmm this looks good! I loooove artichoke hearts!

  19. jenyu says:

    Manggy – I’ll bet you could add chopped spinach to this too? Mmm, the olive oil-lemon-egg yolk sounds MUCH better than mayo!

    Chuck – yeah, the mayo freaks me out too :) hee hee. thanks!

    Chelsea – you too? I have random cans of stuff lying around all the time!

    Deborah – yay garlic!

    K – ha ha, it’s called “using a tripod” since I don’t have an “assistant” :)

    Peabody – I’m flattered, lady. You’re always inspiring ME.

    Christine – isn’t food great? I love that we cooks can whip up all sorts of terrific stuff from the “ordinary”. Woe to the non-cook ;)

    Annemarie – ha ha, you give me way too much credit there! I was wiped out, but luckily had all of the components ready to go!

    Lynn – great :)

    Steph – you’re so welcome!

    Tartelette – thanks, sweetie.

    Pam – so many garlic lovers, you know the world can’t be all bad.

    Graeme – I dare say you ARE as great as I am ;) With or without artichokes, you’re wonderful.

    Nikki – wow, that’s so cool! Thanks for the compliment!

    Michelle – thanks!

    Jen – I have a love-hate relationship with warm salads that have mayo :) I am attracted and mortified at the same time!

    Seth – You rock!

    Amy – Jeremy loved it. Unfortunately, the day after I made it I started chemo and the artichokes smelled awful to me… Bummer!

  20. Sharona May says:

    Lokks great! I am a fan of artichokes with Chicken. I have a similar dish with a white wine sauce.

    Thanks,

    Sharona May

  21. jenyu says:

    Sharona – White wine sauce? Oh that sounds LOVELY :)

  22. Denise says:

    Love this dish – will definitely be putting it on our to cook list for the next week! As well, your site and photos are very touching. Thank you for sharing!

  23. jenyu says:

    Denise – thanks and I hope you like the dish!

  24. Taylor says:

    That looks so good im going to try it soon

  25. jenyu says:

    Taylor – good luck with it, I hope it works out! :)

  26. wonderment » Blog Archive » Recipes for non-Vegetarians says:

    […] Roast Chicken Artichoke Pasta […]

  27. Jesse says:

    This seems like a great dish! I’m excited to give it a try tonight! Props to the tele babes! I bet this was a great dish to come back to after shredding the pow, and earning your turns! (Shoutout from a climbing guide, and a Leadville, CO resident)

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